If you’re reading this ezine, it’s likely that you’ve participated in a teleseminar, whether it be mine or one of my colleagues. You’ve probably been on some that have been very good, where you got tons of really valuable information. And you may have found yourself on a few that were nothing but pitch-fests for the host’s lastest product.

But I want to share something with you. Hosting content-rich teleseminars for my target market is some of the quickest and easiest mo^ney I’ve generated in my business.

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Are you like many entrepreneurs who are afraid to choose a niche for your offerings? I know there can be the fear that you’re limiting your business if you narrow your niche down too much, but that simply isn’t true. Believe me, it’s so much easier and profitable to market to a smaller portion of the market (just think how many people there are in the world!) than to try to be all things to all people. And you’ll be amazed to find out that you actually open yourself up to possibilities that would not have come up had your focus been all over the map.

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Did you know that one of the quickest ways to draw attention to your business is by conducting interviews of people in your niche whose name is familiar to your target market?

This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to add loads of targeted subscribers to your email list, and it can a lot of fun, too!

You can interview them over the phone and record it, offering the audio as a way to entice people to sign up for your list (and you can ask if your interviewee would be willing to do the same - most will). Or you could do a written interview via email and offer the written transcript as a bonus to those who sign up for your Free Taste.

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The thing about Cabo, Mexico, is you’re surrounded by a lot of entrepreneurs. From the people peddling their wares on the sidewalk to the wait staff and crew members serving you (and working for tips), it’s a great place to study what to do if you want to put more money in your pocket.

The best case study took place on a snorkel cruise ship. We had already paid for the cruise, so they weren’t trying to sell us anything. Instead crew members were trying to up their tips. Here are 5 things they did and what you can do in your own marketing to increase your sales:

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If you’re like many entrepreneurs, the thought of marketing makes you slightly sick to your stomach. And it’s more then a simple like or dislike of marketing, it’s the idea of trying to fit it into your to-do list. You already have a million things going on, how can you possibly fit marketing in?

So, instead, you end up not doing anything…until you run out of work that is. Then you desperately race around, trying to cram as much marketing as possible into as short amount of time as possible to try and ramp up your business.

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1. Understand the difference between your Target Market and your Niche. A target market has distinguishing demographic characteristics; for example, recently widowed professional women under 50. A niche gets more specific in characteristics that might not be as easily identifiable as demographics; using the previous example, you could further narrow the target market by including only women who want to remarry and don’t know how to meet suitable men.
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I love the metaphor (or is it an analogy? I always get them confused!) of you and your business as a lighthouse, and your customers as boats, looking for you.

I think I first heard it from Chris Hutchinson, trusted business advisor to Solo-E. But I don’t think I’ve seen it as vividly described as it is by Jan Stringer in this wonderful article about Strategic Attraction™.

Particularly humorous is the image of a lighthouse sprouting arms and legs and running up and down the beach…read more to see what I mean!

In MBA Marketing 101, we talk politely about target markets, niches, segmenting, etc., etc. All nice impersonal words that mask the real truth — we don’t want to work with people we don’t like!

Sometimes it takes a wakeup call to realize how much time and energy we are wasting talking to individuals who are never going to hire us, and who really aren’t going to benefit from anything we tell them anyway! Read Andy’s hilarious take on this subject: Trimming the Freaks.

Personally, that’s what an answering machine is for…

Your “fear of failure”� may stop you from talking to potential clients. Fear is nature’s way of protecting you and it is very normal, the only challenge is that it sometimes manifests when not required. So when you’re about to talk to a potential client and you feel this fear, acknowledge it, thank it, and say that its services are not required at this time!  The next step is to move your focus from “fear of failure”� to how you can help your potential client. Move your focus from yourself to your potential client.

A negative view of “failure” will not only stop you from talking to potential clients but it will severely influence the outcome of the conversation.

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A specific group of people you will focus on selling your services to is your target market. This is not to be confused with the problem you will be solving for this group.

Why choose a target market? You need to decide exactly who your audience is before you sell your services. Deciding on your target market lays a critical foundation for your business. When you get clear about who your target market is, you will know where to focus your selling and marketing efforts and where to focus your research efforts. You want to intimately understand your market: the problems they have and the language they speak. The greater your level of understanding of your target market the more magnetic you will become.

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